Taylor Lautner, 20, is in Los Angeles promoting the final Twilight movie in the internationally successful franchise. Physically a lot smaller now that he’s not playing a werewolf, the handsome actor is dressed in khaki colored jeans and a blue shirt. His hair is a little longer than we’re used to seeing, and as always, looks well put together, and a picture of glowing health. Not currently dating anyone, he was formerly linked to Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez.

Let’s talk a little bit about memories. What do you like about Jacob that’s going to stay with you?

I grew to love Jacob throughout this whole process. He has so many awesome qualities that I think all of us should apply towards ourselves. I can go down the list, but probably the biggest thing that I respect about Jacob that will stick with me is his loyalty. He is extremely loyal, and also his persistence. He knows what he wants, and he knows what he is passionate about and he will do anything to achieve it. And he doesn’t let anything get in his way. So I mean that’s probably about Jacob, but this whole experience has been amazing. It was definitely a bittersweet end, especially because we filmed the last two movies back to back so it was a seven-month shoot. We were all really tired at the end of the shoot, so we were excited to be done, and at the same time, we knew as soon as we finished, we were going to want to go back in time and wish we could do it all over again. So we soaked up every last moment and enjoyed it and here I am a year and a half later, wishing we could go back and film some more.

Kristen said something about when she first met you, that you were like a baby, and now obviously you changed a lot, you’ve grown up in four years. Is that weird to grow up in front of everybody?

No, it wasn’t weird. It is weird for myself to look back at pictures of the first film. I look like a different person. It’s crazy what can happen in four years.

Is there anything you won’t miss or are looking forward to post-Twilight?

I won’t miss the weather conditions that we usually had to film in. It was always cold and rainy, and whenever the sun came out we had to stop filming, so we could only film when it was crappy outside. It will be nice to film movies where it will actually be nice outside and you could roll cameras. That will definitely be nice.

Since you finished the movie, do you remember any specific conversations that you had?

Yeah, we all definitely grew so close throughout this and in the past four years that we will definitely all stay in touch. I mean, it was always a great excuse to hang out and spend time together when we had to work for twelve hours a day with each other. So now we will have to find different excuses, but I’m sure we will. I don’t know about any specific conversation and stuff, we’ve all become such close friends by this point. The saga may be coming to a finish, but our friendships definitely will not.

How do you feel when you are out of that umbrella, out of Twilight and now okay, it’s just you? How do you deal with that?

It’s different. Twilight is its own world, is its own thing. So when you are in that world you are in a world that’s unlike anything else. The fans are unlike anything else, the filming process, everything. So it is different, but also you are a little nervous about it. But it’s exciting to be able to finish this chapter and go out and explore the real world because Twilight just isn’t real. It is unlike anything else and who knows if any of us will every experience anything like it ever again. We were just so fortunate to be a part of this, but it is exciting to be able to start a new chapter and learn more.

So what character would you like to do after this?

All characters. I mean, I don’t want to do one thing. My goal is to challenge myself to a wide variety of characters. I think specifically I am just looking forward to playing a real person with real issues. Now that I’ve been living in a supernatural world playing a werewolf and all these love problems and transforming into a giant wolf, I’m looking forward to playing a character that’s more grounded and more realistic.

Will you have roles with your top on, or will you take your top off?

It will definitely be exciting for me to be able to keep the top on. Sure.

Do you believe in something similar to imprinting? Are we destined to be with somebody?

I do not know, that is a good question. I definitely think if it were it would be different if than imprinting, but yeah, it’s very possible.

So do you believe at love at first sight?

I’m still figuring that one out. I go back and forth on that one. Sometimes I say I do and sometimes I’m not sure. So I definitely think I need a few more years under my belt to fully realize if I believe in that or not.

Are you part of that final sequence?

Kind of. You’ll have to wait and see. My character is, but I’m not.

Is it easy for you to make friends with females? Is it easy for you to have good chemistry?

I’m a total people person. I love meeting new people and making new relationships, so I definitely am totally open to that, I love doing that. It’s the first time that Jacob is really realizing, “Okay. She’s gone. She’s got a ring on her finger, she’s going to Brazil.” It was an emotional scene as well. So that one definitely touched me the most, especially because it was the last one, and I got to share that with Kristen. And there were physically challenging ones and emotionally.

So you don’t live in a guarded way?

I probably would be lying if I said that we don’t guard ourselves more than we used to, but you don’t want to be too guarded and have too many walls up that you can’t even make new friends or find new relationships, that would be a bummer. But yeah, we have to be more careful than we were before.

After all this work, are you planning to take a break or do you want to keep working?

I’m looking forward to working and doing something different. I’m very excited about that. So the good thing is, this isn’t over until the end of this year, so this will definitely keep us busy for a bit, but as soon as that’s done, I’m looking forward to doing something new.

Will you have a poster of Twilight New Moon?

Definitely not. (Laughs) No, that would probably be weird.

Do you have a memento from the set as a souvenir?

I don’t have anything. Well, the only thing I might have is my last wardrobe, but I don’t even have the jean shorts sadly. The thing I really wanted was my motorcycle from the second, third and fourth movies, but I don’t think I’m going to get that. They are sticklers. That’s probably in some museum somewhere. They don’t want to give it to me, so that’s a bummer.

Coming onto romantic roles is that something that you really wanted?

Well, I do enjoy romance, a lot of the stuff I have in development right now and that will be next for me, isn’t mainly focused on romance. I mean there’s always some sort of romance in every movie, but everything I’m working on right now is not super romantic. So I’m excited about that. It will be different, after this romance saga. (Laughs)

What are you going to miss the most when it’s finally over?

It will just be the time spent with the cast. Like I said, it was always an awesome excuse to hang out because we all are super, super close friends by now and we enjoy spending time together. It was always a great excuse to say, no, I have got to work with them for twelve hours a day for three months, and we just got to hang out that whole time. Now that it’s done, we are going to have to figure out different ways and it’s going to be tough because we are going to be busy and doing our separate things. But that’s by far the biggest thing I will miss, just being able to say all right, we are going back to film another movie and go back to camp and spend three months together, and that was always the most exciting feeling. When we finished, we knew that there was going to be another movie, so it was sad but it’s okay, there will be filming again in another couple of months. And that’s not happening anymore, so that’s the biggest bummer.

And what do you miss doing that you can no longer do because of the crazy fans?

Sometimes it’s just like the simple things, like going to a movie theater, or going to a restaurant that you want to go to. Sometimes it’s just those little things that you can’t do but you always figure out ways to do it. Then you miss like bigger things, like going to theme parks. I love roller coasters and theme parks and I haven’t been to one of those in years.

Do you do disguises?

I’ve tried the disguise and it doesn’t work. I haven’t gone full out, I haven’t put on a fake nose and a beard, I haven’t put on a mask, but I’ve tried a hat, all the way down, covering the face, big sunglasses. That definitely doesn’t work, so I have to figure out something better.

And what can we expect from your character in this last movie?

In this one, I am really excited for everyone to see it. It was fun for me to play because he’s much more light-hearted and comedic, and happy in this one. He’s a lot more stress-free, and less emotional, because the one thing that he’s always wanted is to end up with Bella and that was what he was always stressing over, and now he realizes that that’s not where he’s supposed to be and that’s not where he’s supposed to end up. He finds what his meaning in life is, and it was a lot of fun for me to play because it’s a completely different Jacob and I think the fans will like seeing that side of him, happier.

“The saga may be coming to a finish, but our friendships definitely will not” –
Taylor Lautner